Page 83 of Deathtoll
About Emma, first of all, who was in the clutches of a killer. Her baby sister whom Kate was supposed to protect.Oh God, Emma.
Kate’s role had always been to be the big sister who sheltered the baby from the monster who’d given them birth. She’d protected Emma in foster care too, until they’d been adopted by a good family, until they were finally safe. Taking care of Emma had kept Kate alive, gave her young life purpose. If it hadn’t been for Emma, she would have run away—had thought about it a dozen times—ended up on the street. Then she would have been dead, because how long would a ten-year-old possibly make it sleeping in abandoned buildings and parks, with predators on the prowl at night?
Kate had kept Emma safe, and keeping Emma safe had saved Kate. But then Kate had let down her guard. You couldn’t do that. It wasneversafe. You relaxed for a second andthatwas when the worst happened.
She couldn’t trust happiness with Murph. Because what if she allowed herself to be happy with him, and then something terrible happened to him? Because that was life. Nobody was ever safe.
Something terrible could happen to Murph, like it just happened to Emma.
Murph walking away was for the best. Even if it didn’t feel like that at the moment. Even if right now, Kate’s heart was in a thousand shattered pieces.
She dropped onto the edge of the tub and buried her face in her hands.
She sobbed so wretchedly, sniffed so loudly, that she almost didn’t hear her phone ping in her pocket.
Multimedia message from an unknown number.
The type of call she would normally ignore, but this time she clicked so fast the movement, was a blur. She held her breath. Blinked away tears so she could see.
A photo flashed onto her screen, a woman’s hand bound with a plastic tie at her lower back, the skin red and raw, showing obvious signs that she’d struggled.
Kate would have recognized Emma’s hands even without the turquoise turtle ring. Their fingernails were shaped the same.
Her breath whooshed out, her chest constricting. Her fingers trembled as she tried to scroll, but there was nothing more, no message, not even a single word.
She pushed to her feet and stepped toward the door on liquid knees, light-headed. She had to show the photo to Hunter, forward it to Captain Bing and Cirelli. And Murph.
Because Murph would help. No matter what. He was probably out there right now, looking for Emma. It hadn’t even occurred to Kate that he would stop, regardless of the breakup. But she stopped in front of the bathroom door and didn’t open it. Didn’t call out to Hunter. Didn’t send anyone anything. She laid her forehead against the wood instead and tried to slow the thoughts racing through her anguished mind.
Asael wantedher. He didn’t really want Emma. He was using Emma as bait. He was using Emma to scare Kate, to make her desperate, to lure her to him.
The second photo pinging onto her phone, an eye with a fresh bruise, confirmed Kate’s fears. Emma’s eye, looking straight into the camera, defiant, as if sayingDon’t you worry about me.
How many more pictures did Asael mean to send?
How much more was he prepared to hurt Emma before he deemed Kate “ready” to hear him?
Kate thought about their parents, who would be arriving in less than twenty-four hours. She was supposed to pick them up at the airport, then take them to the bed-and-breakfast on Main Street.
They could get an Uber.
She hit Reply on her phone and typed with trembling fingers.Me for her.
Not because she thought Asael would let Emma go if Kate gave herself into his clutches. For one, Emma had probably seen his face, so she was currently in the same predicament as Kate. Asael couldn’t let either of them live.
BUT… Two were better than one. And Kate had years’ worth of self-defense training from Murph. She’d imagined facing Asael a million times, had mentally and physically prepared for it. Between her and Emma, they might be able to come up with a plan to escape. Kate certainly wasn’t going to leave her sister alone with a killer.
She drew a slow breath to calm her racing pulse as she typed a quick follow-up message.Let’s trade.
* * *
Asael
Asael smiled at the message popping up on his phone.
The police weren’t dictating it to Kate. She was alone in the back of the house. He could see this morning’s police protection in the kitchen window.
He waited a minute, just to make her sweat, then typedIf you want to see your sister alive, do exactly as I say.
